Everett DUI Lawyer

Service Locations

• Everett
• Marysville
• Lake Stevens
• Snohomish
• Lynnwood
• Seattle
• Shoreline
• Arlington
• Kirkland
• Bothell
• Edmonds
• Redmond
• Monroe
• Mill Creek
• Mountlake Terrace
• Mukilteo
• Burien
• Mt. Vernon Oak Harbor (Island County)
  Tacoma (Pierce County)
• Spokane

What do the DUI laws in Washington say?

Washington DUI law section 46.61.502 says that “A person is guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, marijuana, or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within this state.”

Under DUI laws in Washington, a person is prohibited from operating a vehicle, or from being in actual physical control of a vehicle, if they have:

• A blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08% or higher
• A THC concentration of 5 nanograms or more per milliliter has blood
• Are under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or marijuana

• If convicted of a DUI with a BAC less than .15% OR no test result, here are the potential penalties:
  • Minimum 24 hours jail time or 15 days electronic home monitoring (EHM)
  • Maximum 364 days in jail
  • Fines ranging from $990.50 to $5,000
  • License suspension of 90 days
  • One year ignition interlock requirement
  • Alcohol and drug assessment
  • Probation for five years (negotiable)
• If convicted of a DUI with a BAC of .15% or higher OR test refusal, here are some of the potential penalties:
  • ⦁ Minimum 48 hours consecutive jail time or 30 days electronic home monitoring (EHM)
  • Maximum 364 days in jail
  • Fines ranging from $1,245.50 to $5,000
  • License suspension of one to two years – dependent of refusal
  • One year ignition interlock requirement
  • Alcohol and drug assessment
  • Probation for five years (negotiable)

DUI Penalties

Here is a list of some of the penalties that may result from a DUI conviction:

• Your driver’s license can be suspended.
• You may be sentenced to jail and be required to pay significant fines.
• You will have a criminal record that may prevent you from obtaining certain types of employment.
• You may have difficulty crossing the Canadian border.
• If you are stationed at a military installation, such as the U.S. Naval Station in Everett, you may experience military sanctions.
• You may be forced to have high-risk SR-22 insurance.
• You may have to have an ignition interlock installed in your vehicle for one year.

None of this information is meant to scare you. It’s meant to discourage you from driving while under the influence of alcohol in the first place. However, if you are facing a DUI charge, you need to hire a qualified Everett DUI attorney right away. Having the right lawyer on your side can play a critical role in the outcome of your case. Whether you are convicted may impact your life in various ways for years to come.

Enhanced penalties if you have a child in the vehicle

You need to be aware that there are enhanced penalties for those who are charged and convicted of DUI while having a child passenger. If the driver convicted of DUI with transporting a child under the age of 16 at the time of the offense, there will be:

• An additional 24 hours of jail time and fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for a first offense.
• An additional five days in jail and fines ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 for a second offense.
• An additional 10 days in jail and fines ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 for a third offense.

All are these additional penalties will be on top of the normal penalties associated with a DUI conviction.

Do all DUIs get reported to the Washington Department of Licensing?

If convicted of a DUI, the court will report the conviction to the Washington State Department of Licensing. The Department then takes the following actions depending on the number of DUI offenses a person has been convicted of.

• First offense: 90-day license suspension (two days if a person is enrolled in 90 days of the 27/7 sobriety program). If a driver’s BAC was .15% or more, then the suspension will be one year (four days if enrolled in the 27/7 sobriety program).
• Second offense: Two-year license suspension (one year if enrolled in six months of the 24/7 sobriety program). If a driver’s BAC was .15% or more, then this suspension will be 900 days.
• Third offense: The Driver’s license will be revoked for three years (four years if the driver’s BAC was .15% or more).

Please note that drivers who refuse to submit to a breath or blood test are subject to license revocation. This will include a two-year revocation for a first offense, three-year revocation for a second offense, and a four-year revocation for a third offense.

DUI Attorneys Defense Strategy

Being arrested for a DUI is stressful. Our DUI attorneys make sure that defending yourself against a DUI charge does not add to your stress.

Our DUI attorneys’ defense strategies include:

• Examining the evidence against you, including evaluating how field sobriety tests were administered and the training of the officers who required them.
• Determining whether health or medication issues may have affected the outcome of blood alcohol content BAC tests.
• Reviewing the simulator solutions and BAC testing material to make sure your Datamaster was in proper working order at the time you took the test.
• Reviewing your prior driving record.
• Advising clients about responding to police interrogation and requests to take field sobriety tests.
• Suppressing evidence to weaken the prosecutor’s case at trial.
• Investigating whether the police had a valid reason to pull you over in the first place. Some drivers don’t realize that the police can’t merely stop you without reason. To justify stopping you, law enforcement officer needs to have reasonable suspicion that you have violated a traffic law or that you have likely engaged in criminal conduct. In some instances it is possible to defend against a DUI charge by proving that the police stopped a driver without having a legitimate reason to do so.
• Investigating how the field sobriety test was administered. Sometimes a law enforcement officer improperly administering a field sobriety test can result in an individual appearing to be intoxicated when they may not be. A Russell & Hill, PLLC Everett criminal defense attorney can look into the way an officer administered your test and determine if there is reason to believe mistakes were made. It can also potentially be shown that an officer is claiming someone they stopped performed poorly during the field sobriety test when in fact their performance was that of a sober individual. Determining what does and does not constitute poor performance during a field sobriety test can be a subjective matter.
• Showing you were not operating the vehicle and had no intention to at the time of your arrest. While such cases may be rare, sometimes, those facing DUI charges were never even driving their vehicles when they were arrested. For example, perhaps you get drunk at a bar and decide to walk to your vehicle to retrieve certain items before calling a cab to get a ride home. If an officer notices that you appear intoxicated and are going into your vehicle, they might assume you are doing so with the intention of driving. You could thus face a DUI or Physical Control charge if they test your BAC and find it is over the legal limit. You may know you did not plan on driving, but the officer might have arrested you anyway.

Once a thorough investigation has been completed, it may reveal violations of your rights, faulty evidence, and improper police procedures that may be favorable to your DUI case.

Our DUI Attorneys also:

• Help clients retain their driver’s licenses.
• Get DUI’s dismissed and/or amended to lower charges.
• Develop solutions for alternative sentencing such as community service, work release, work crew, electronic home monitoring, and/or alcohol abuse treatment so that clients can stay out of jail.

Contact DUI Attorneys

Fill out our Criminal Defense Case Evaluation Form and request a free consultation with one of our DUI attorneys at Russell & Hill, PLLC. Get the representation you deserve.

• DUI Attorneys
• Free initial consultations
• Weekday, evening and weekend appointments
• Phone consultations 24 hours a day in emergencies
• In-house Spanish translation

Criminal Defense Services

• DUI Attorneys
• Felony Attorneys
• Misdemeanor Attorneys
• Traffic Violation Attorneys
• Criminal Defense Attorneys

Russell & Hill, PLLC, DUI attorneys, also serves the communities of Arlington, Bothell, Edmonds, Everett, Kenmore, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Monroe, Shoreline, Snohomish, Stanwood, and Sultan.

If you have been charged with a DUI in the surrounding areas of Snohomish, King, Skagit, Island, or Pierce Counties, or anywhere else in Washington, contact Russell & Hill, PLLC, DUI attorneys, by completing our “Free DUI Evaluation Form” to schedule a free initial consultation.